


Discuss Paris

by WannaBeBold



Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen, Somalia Discussion, brief mentions of rape and torture, non-graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21750586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WannaBeBold/pseuds/WannaBeBold
Summary: "Why did you lie to McGee?" "Why'd you lie to Nora?" One room and one bed in Paris brings up emotions she never thought she'd share with him. My Take on what happened in Paris.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	Discuss Paris

One room. One room with only one bed. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, thankful to land on a couch tucked in one corner of the room. She would stay there tonight, she decided, knowing Tony would get cranky if he didn’t get a good night’s rest. Besides, it’s not like she would be sleeping anyway.   
“I’ll take the couch.” His voice broke through her thoughts and she rushed to stop him before he could set his bags down.   
“No!” The sharpness in her voice made him pause and he looked down to see her hand on his arm. Noticing what she had done, she jerked her hand away and clasped them behind her back. “That is not necessary Tony. I can take the couch. I would not want you complaining about your back tomorrow.”  
“Ziva, if you think I’m gonna let you sleep on that thing you’re crazy. You take the bed and I promise not to complain about any part of my body that may be sore tomorrow.   
“But – “ She hesitated.  
“Nope. No buts. You’re taking the bed. Now, go get changed. It’s almost midnight and we have to be up by 0600.”   
Knowing any attempts at arguing with him would be futile, Ziva grabbed her bag and shuffled into the bathroom. She quickly changed into her pajamas and hoped Tony was already asleep. The short sleeves and shorts she wore did little to cover the scars that still lingered on her skin and she was too tired to be answering questions he would no doubt have. She peeked her head around the bathroom door and saw him spread out across the couch, eyes closed and mouth agape. The room was dark as she made her way to the bed, grateful for the light coming from the bedside lamp. Crawling under the covers, she grabbed her book and settled in for what would no doubt be a long night. 

Low groans broke Tony out of a restless sleep. Groaning, he looked at his watch, noting the time as 1:47 am. The noise stopped after a minute so he rolled over, intent on falling back to sleep. Just as he was beginning to drift off again, a piercing scream filled the room and he sat up straight. Recognizing the sound as coming from his partner, he scrambled off the couch and rushed to her side. On the bed, Ziva was trapped in a nightmare as mixtures of groans and mumbled “no’s” escaped her lips and tears rolled down her cheeks. The sight made his heart ache and he sat on the edge of the bed. Scooting closer, he gathered her in his arms and began rocking her back and forth while whispering reassurances in her ear. As she started to come out of her nightmare her tears turned to sobs which eventually calmed down to whimpers. Finding comfort in the warm embrace, Ziva snuggled into the arms that were enveloping her. The voice whispering in her ear finally broke through to her and she froze as she remembered where she was and, more importantly, who she was with.   
“Let me go.” When he didn’t release her immediately she cleared her throat and spoke with more authority. “Tony! Let. Me. Go.”  
He slowly moved his arms away and she scrambled to the other side of the bed, avoiding his curious gaze.   
“What was that Ziva?”  
“Nothing Tony.” She said as she began fixing the blankets around her, prepared to go back to the book she was reading before she fell asleep. “Go back to sleep.”   
“That wasn’t nothing Zi. C’mon. Talk to me.” He reached over and tapped her knee lightly, causing her head to jerk up. She stared blankly at him and read in her eyes what she wouldn’t, couldn’t, say out loud. “It was about Somalia, wasn’t it?” Her hardened gaze confirmed his suspicions. “You don’t have to keep it hidden you know. I’m here, if you ever wanna talk.”  
She stayed silent for so long he was about to get up and go back to the couch when she finally spoke.  
“Damaged goods.” Her voice was so quiet he wasn’t sure he heard her correctly.  
“What?”   
Ziva sat up against the headboard, now facing him but avoiding his curious gaze.   
“Damaged goods. It is what Vance called me, when I came back. I suppose he was right. I mean, just look at me.” She held her arms out and for the first time Tony saw all the scars that marred her skin. He tried but failed to hold in his gasp and gently grabbed her hand, running his thumb over the back of it when her head fell.   
“Oh Ziva. You’re not damaged goods, far from it.” She scoffed at his words and jerked her hand back.  
“Really? Well what else do you call someone who got herself captured and held hostage in a terrorist camp? Someone who spent four months, four months, being starved, injected with who knows what, and beaten within an inch of her life?” Her voice got louder and louder with each word spoken until she choked on a sob with her last confession. “Someone who – someone who was raped by multiple men over and over again until I lost count. What do you call them?” She wiped away tears from her eyes as she asked her last question, failing to see the tears streaming down Tony’s face too.   
“I call that person a survivor.” He put his hand under her chin and tipped her head up to look at him. “And the strongest person I know.”  
At his words, she broke down into full on sobs and went into his arms willingly. “I’m so sorry Ziva. For everything.” He pressed kisses to her hair, brushing back her tears as they cried together for her pain.   
For the next hour and a half, she told him stories of Somalia, talked about her nightmares since being home, and how she wished she could forget it had ever happened. He listened intently, offering words of encouragement every time it got hard for her to speak and whispered promises that she was safe now. 

Her alarm clock going off promptly at 0600 roused her out of a peaceful sleep. She slapped the snooze button once and rolled over, facing Tony. They had finally fallen asleep at 3:30 out of pure exhaustion, wrapped up in each other. Smiling to herself, she realized this was the first time in months that her sleep wasn’t filled with nightmares. Reaching over again, she set the alarm for another hour and snuggled back into Tony’s side and pulling his arm over her waist. They could talk about what this meant for them later but for now, she was going to sleep.


End file.
